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it is a simple Chi/ relaxation exercise, using age-old Chinese methods to relax the body and mind.
the benifits are therefore both physical and mental,
with more people today than ever suffering from the effects of stress, induced both at home and in the workplace, you will find the calming effect this exercise produces to be an excellent means of stress relief in its own right.
PREPERATION - PHYSICAL
you should wear loose fitting clothes with as few layers as possible without feeling cold, bare foot is best, but should you wear socks, then as with all other items of clothing ensure they are not too tight a fit.
do not begin the exercise with a full bladder, and refrain from eating for one hour before.
the room you are going to use should be at a temperature that you find neither hot nor cold.
the exercise is normally carried out on the floor, however bedridden people or for those that can not use the floor a bed will sufice.
you will need a pillow/ cushion, a rolled up towel, coat or jumper, which will be used to support the head.
if you can set up a timer or have someone call you when five minutes are up, all the better, avoid using a clock, as you need to total concentration on your actions, without being interrupted by "clock watching"
PREPERATION - MENTAL
tell yourself this is "your time", for the next five minutes only you exist, what ever worries or thoughts you may have buzzing around your head will just have to wait, as all our thoughts will be directed towards the exercise, and the exercise only.
POSITION
place your pillow/ cushion etc, on the floor, lie down on your back with the pillow supporting the head, with your arms resting at your sides bring your hands up over the stomach, lightly interlocking the fingers, the tips of the thumbs touching and over the navel, legs are held loosly together and you may allow the knees and the feet to spread slightly apart.
You may close your eyes, or leave them open as you feel best, if closed make sure you do not scrunch them tightly shut.
Place the tip of your tongue behind the upper front teeth, it should rest there lightly and not be pushed against the teeth.
Working from the head down we will now start to mentally relax the body,
Starting at the head, ensure the jaw is relaxed and you are not clamping your teeth. if the neck feels tense you may have to adjust the pillow so you feel tottally at ease in the position you have set.
Now with your mind, feel and relax, the shoulders, chest, and stomach, then the upper and lower arms, then the hands.
Take as much time as you need to do this.
Then follow the same procedure with the lower abdomen, buttocks, thighs, calves and finally each individual toe.
As you concentrate on the area in question feel with your mind, if it feels tense or tight, you may have to make slight body movements to ensure you are in the most comfortable position you can be.
This simple body relaxation, if done correctly can in itself be therapeutic, you will find that while you have been mentally relaxing the body the mind has also become more relaxed, in other words while you have been thinking about relaxing the body you have not been thinking of anything else.
Now we have obtained this relaxed state, let's add simple Chi breathing to further enhance the effects.
BREATHING STEP 1
Slowly, gently and naturally exhale out of the nose,
As with all inhalations and exhalations, these should be done naturally, gently and unforced, so you will breathe in and out at a tempo that you feel most at ease with.
We will now inhale and use your mind to imagine the air entering through our left nostril, as we inhale we allow the lower abdomen to rise and not the chest, what we aim do do here is breathe using all of the lungs.
Now we exhale but imagine rhe air is leaving through the right nostril,
Repeat this cycle three times.
it is important to remember that the whole of the body should be kept in a comfortable and relaxed position with no stress or tension applied to any part of the body.
BREATHING STEP 2
We will now complete three more in/out cycles as above, but this time, on inhalation we try to imagine we are drawing in only good clean healthy air. (no matter what your enviromentis, the mind will help to filter any impurities, so you will only draw in the finest of airs in your enviroment)
Now as we exhale we imagine we are expelling all the toxins and bad air from our body.
Repeat this cycle three times.
BREATHING STEP 3
As we inhale all the good refreshing air, say in your mindthe word "quiet", also as you inhale feel the lower abdomen gently raising the hands.
On exhaleation say in your mind "relax", and allow the hands to gently help ease as much of the air from your lungs as is possible without straining.
Repeat this sequence threee times
FINALLY
Now you may open your eyes if closed, and lay there for a few seconds or minutes, do not you feel more at ease and calmer both in the body and mind ?, slowly stand up making sure you are steady on your feet.
Once familiar with the technique you may increase to ten minutes per session, but do not be in a rush to complete the technique.
This exercise should be avoided if you have a fever, diarrhoea, a bad cold, or if you feel overly physicaly tired.
Pregnant women could find the motions and massaging effeects on the internal organs by using chi breathing to cause nausea.
This exercise is only one of a vast array or breathing exercises open to everyone, martial artists or not, some are more dynamic than others, a breathing exercise designed for Wing Chun will be added later.